Selena Gomez reveals her fun side but is this the real her?
Full track-by-track album review below.
1. Birthday: Probably the naughtiest track Selena has put out to date, don’t even know if it’s intended to come of that way though, but with all those moans it does get kind of raunchy. Still it’s fun but doesn’t fit quite well as an opening track as the rest of the album heads in a different direction. 7/10
2. Slow Down: This song was given to fans who pre-ordered the album early and will deservingly go ahead as the second single. The Cataracts help boost this track’s dance elements and is just one big catchy song that you won’t be able to get out of your head for days. It also manages to follow well with ‘Birthday’ due to its naughty play on words. 10/10
3. Stars Dance: For a title track this is pretty bland… Sorry it’s rather forgettable and not catchy at all. Probably the least appealing track of the album. 4/10
4. Like a Champion: Here Selena seems to heavily channel Rihanna and her Caribbean style with similar lines heard in Rihanna’s ‘Man Down’ as she continues to repeat her Rum-pa-pa-pum lyrics. It’s not a bad thing though as it allows fans to see Selena try out a different style and surprisingly it manages to work. 6/10
5. Come & Get It: If you haven’t heard this song already, well then you shouldn’t even be listening to the album as the track has been played non-stop worldwide and with good reason. The cultural hybridity makes this track such a hit with its cleverly placed Western and Eastern elements of melody. 8/10
6. Forget Forever: Another fun dance track that cleverly manages to make Selena continually pronounce ‘our love was made to rule the world’ wrapped with another rhyming verse thereafter making this tune yet another catchy one. 7/10
7. Save The Day: Love, love, love this track. It’s catchy and gives of some real good vibrations making you want to get up and hit the dance floor! This will certainly be a hit at clubs and on all major radio airwaves around the world. 10/10
8. B.E.A.T: Spring Breakers era shines through this tune, the dub step/electro breakdown screams Skrillex. While catchy the song is also uneven throughout with patches of good and bad. For some reason the intro reminds me of classic 90’s song ‘Blue’ by Eiffel 65 (rem im blue da ba dee?). 6/10
9. Write Your Name: Old Selena from When the Sun Goes Down shows a bit through this track with her blend of slow melody and string of upbeats. Kind of reminds me of her old beautiful track Ghost of You. 7/10
10. Undercover: Round and Round anyone? It has a similar concept to it and is just as fun and pounding with a thumping beat. Another good dance track but not overly a stand-out on the album. 7/10
11. Love Will Remember: This is a nice change in pace for the album as it takes a break away from the thumping dance beats and gives us an emotionally vulnerable Selena. It’s one of those songs that just makes you want to sway along with as you let yourself go to the lyrics. 8/10
12. Nobody Does It Like You: ‘Baby get shaky after school’… sorry the intro reminds me of The Ian Carey Project’s ‘Get Shaky’ and this one is yet another dance track on the album, after all this album is called Stars Dance right? I like it but the dub step kind of ruins it for me, also once the dub step is over the silence reveals Selena being auto tuned plus it kind of gets repetitive. 5/10
13. Music Feels Better: This closing track is a nice way to end the dance-heavy album as we are treated to another fun little track, it’s not to beat heavy as the others and still manages to be catchy as heck. Does Selena ever stop releasing catchy lyrics? This album is full of them. 7.5/10
VERDICT:This is probably the most fun and radio-friendly album Disney turned serious actress/artist Selena Gomez has released with non-stop catchy and dance heavy tracks throughout.
It will definitely please the Selenators, but the only thing its missing is clear direction as Selena is succumbed to heavy dance beats without ever getting the chance to reveal her real-self or true emotion. ‘Love Will Remember’ is probably the only chance she gets but then again it could be that Selena’s just in a real happy dance-filled mood these days I guess.
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